Local Government

poconorecord.com

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Posted Aug. 2, 2015 at 12:01 AM

Posted Aug. 2, 2015 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

Main services generally handled by local townships and boroughs include construction and maintenance of local roads; residential, commercial and industrial planning and zoning; code enforcement; parks and recreation; libraries and licensing of businesses.

Not all local governments take on all local services open to them. Most local municipalities don't have municipal garbage collection, for example, leaving it to individual households to contract for it with private garbage collectors. Fire departments, utilizing volunteers, operate independently but receive some financial assistance from local government to supplement grants and fund-raising. Some municipalities have formed separate authorities - some in conjunction with neighboring municipalities - to provide public water and sewer services where they exist in Monroe County.

The four Monroe County boroughs are East Stroudsburg, Stroudsburg, Mount Pocono and Delaware Water Gap. Most operate under a weak-mayor form of government, with all major decisions made by a seven-person borough council. The mayor traditionally handles duties designated by the council, and only votes to break ties.

The seven council members in each borough are elected at-large to represent the entire community, except in East Stroudsburg Borough where the six council members are elected to represent separate wards within the borough. Council members and mayors serve four-year terms.

Each borough council appoints a public works/streets superintendent, and a zoning or code enforcement officer, in addition to naming members of planning commissions and zoning hearing boards (the ZHB hears appeals to zoning rulings concerning land use requests). Some also appoint treasurers, though Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg appoint borough managers who manage finances while carrying out general policies of the council.

Most borough boards have appointed attorneys, called solicitors, to advise them on the legalities of matters considered by those boards.

Townships each have a three- or five-person board of supervisors elected at large, each supervisor serving a six-year term. They appoint other officers - such as treasurer, tax collector, roadmaster, and township manager - to oversee township operations, though it is common for the part-time supervisors to appoint themselves to many of those full-time paid duties.

Supervisors also appoint members to various boards and committees, including planning commissions and zoning hearing boards.

A three-person board of auditors has the sole job each year of considering the merits of pay scales set by the supervisors for their self-appointed duties. Most township boards have appointed attorneys, called solicitors, to advise members on legal aspects of actions they consider.

Monroe and Pike counties each have "no-executive" types of government overseen by a three-member board of county commissioners. Though the commissioners assess taxes and control at least some of the purse strings to numerous social service and law-enforcement functions, many functions are also subject to state regulations and/or the actions of independently elected county officials.

The three county commissioners in each county set multimillion-dollar annual budgets. Each commissioner is elected to a four-year term, with each major party permitted to nominate two candidates for three positions. This usually sets up a four-way general-election race for three positions. Stroudsburg is Monroe's county seat, with Pike County government centered in Milford.

Though the commissioners board is the chief governing body, numerous other elected officials function independently of the commissioners. These include the sheriff, district attorney, combined prothonotary (a civil court clerk)/clerk of the courts (for criminal cases), combined register of wills/recorder of deeds and two jury commissioners whose duties are mostly concerned with county court. The commissioners, though, exercise a degree of influence over those office-holders by setting their budgets and approving staffing levels.

The county treasurer and county controller also are separately elected offices.

The Monroe County commissioners oversee more than 500 employees and appoint department heads who oversee functions that include property assessment and property tax claims, the county jail, probation, children and youth services, veterans affairs, voter registration, and even vector control.

Chief assessor: Oversees office that collects detailed information on properties - lots, buildings, etc. - such as size, amenities and condition of property features, and assigns comparative values to them. The overall comparative value of each property, or assessment, is the basis for property taxation (the millage) by municipalities, school districts and the county.

County controller: The controller, an elected position, issues payroll for county employees, audits fines and collections of the district justices, oversees grants programs, helps review county employees' retirement fund investments, and monitors county budget.

County Prothonotary: In Pennsylvania, the elected prothonotary is a court clerk for all civil cases, keeping track of paperwork and court dates for the judicial system. Prothonotaries often handle duel role of court clerk for criminal case filings.

County Register of wills/recorder of deeds: Person holding elected position keeps detailed records on wills and property deed filings.

County sheriff: The sheriff, an elected position, escorts incarcerated prisoners to courthouse for court appearances, coordinates court house security, and serves summonses and foreclosure notices.

County treasurer: The treasurer, an elected position, collects county grant and tax revenues, issues required dog licenses and provides hunting licenses.